The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today finalized a more stringent standard for pollution from fine particulate matter, commonly known as soot. It was the first time in twelve years that the agency had updated its rules to reflect current science and was the culmination of a power struggle that spanned three presidents.
Dealing with this type of pollution is like fighting a dragon with many heads -- it comes from power plants, factories, vehicles, wildfires and anything else you can imagine that produces soot. That makes the rule a prime target for health advocates, who push for more protective policies, and industry lobbyists, who lobby to maintain existing, looser rules.
At least for now, health advocates have a victory. The latest National Ambient Air Quality Standards, finalized today, tighten the annual limit for fine particulate matter pollution from 12 micrograms per cubic meter to 9 micrograms per cubic meter. The EPA estimates that this would be enough to prevent 4,500 premature deaths, 800,000 cases of asthma symptoms and 290,000 lost work days in 2032.
"These numbers are important, but numbers don't tell the whole story. The whole story is about the people, families and communities who will see cleaner air and healthier lives because of this action," Doris Browne, former president of the National Medical Association, which represents African-American physicians, said during an EPA press call yesterday. "We know that communities, especially communities of color and vulnerable populations, have been disproportionately burdened for too long."
According to a 2019 study, black and Latino populations are exposed to smoke at about 60% higher rates than those related to their consumption. In contrast, non-Hispanic white Americans have a "pollution advantage," experiencing about 17% less air pollution than their consumption behavior.
The rules finalized today by the Environmental Protection Agency are still less stringent than other health advocates had hoped. The American Lung Association wants to set the annual limit at 8 micrograms per cubic meter. The association also asked the Environmental Protection Agency to tighten the 24-hour limit for fine particle pollution to 25 micrograms per cubic meter, but to no avail. The latter measure is intended to address short-term pollution spikes caused by, for example, accidents at refineries, rather than imposing annual limits on cumulative emissions.
To the dismay of the Lung Association, the EPA decided to maintain the current 24-hour standard, which allows 35 micrograms of fine particulate matter per cubic meter. In a call with reporters, EPA Administrator Michael Regan defended the action, saying: "Based on scientific research, the annual standard and the 24-hour standard work very well together to provide protection for both long-term and short-term [fine particulate pollution] exposure."
Harold Wimmer, president and CEO of the American Lung Association, said in a statement: "While tighter annual particulate pollution standards will mean fewer asthma attacks, heart attacks, strokes and deaths, it is disappointing that the EPA has not followed the strong science-based recommendations of the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee and the health community and revised the 24-hour standards to more fully protect public health."
National air quality standards essentially define what clean air is, forcing state and local officials to keep pollution below those thresholds. The standards are typically updated every five years, but the Trump administration has changed all that before. It decided to overturn recommendations made by EPA experts during the Obama administration, put fossil fuel industry insiders at the head of the agency and the Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee, and decided to continue implementing outdated soot rules in 2020.